Thursday, December 26, 2013

End of 2013 Fantasy Football Season - Wide Receiver Rankings

End of Fantasy Football Rankings

Calvin Johnson proved once again he is the best of the best when it comes to WRs in the NFL. He only needed 84 catches for his league leading 12 TDs and finishes second best with 1492 yards. Only Josh Gordon gained more yards with 1564 (on just 80 receptions). We only ranked 5 of the top 10 in our preseason top 10, but Josh Gordon really exploded this season, while missing the first 4 games and catching passes from Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell.

Keenan Allen took home the top rookie WR and even though he fell to the San Diego Chargers in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, everyone knew he had 1st round potential. The Cincinnati Bengals got two WRs in the top 21 thanks to A.J. Green being who he is and Marvin Jones making the most of his 49 catches, scoring 9 TDs.

Preseason

There was some major shuffling this offseason and fantasy favorites Wes Welker and Mike Wallace are strapping on new helmets. Welker goes to a crowded, yet SUPER talented, Broncos team and will either hurt his own value as well as Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas or Peyton Manning is going to have the best season of his long career and each of these guys will finish in the top 7 again. My guess would be that each player loses a bit of value. But not enough to keep you away from them.

As far as Mike Wallace, it will be interesting to see how he and Ryan Tannehill develop. With an unknown run game in Miami, with Reggie Bush now a Lion, teams might focus on Wallace and hit him with double teams. I am not a fan of his this season, but talent always wins...draft with caution.

Randall Cobb should be able to reproduce his numbers from last season with the retirement of Donald Driver and the departure of Greg Jennings, now a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Another career move I disagree with, but the way the Vikings run the ball, if Jennings and Christian Ponder can get on the same page, there is a ton of potential there. James Jones and Jordy Nelson could switch roles again with Nelson catching all the TDs this year.

Can you actually do better than the single greatest season ever by a wide receiver? As it pertains to fantasy football, the answer is a resounding "YES!". Calvin Johnson is the best WR in football and yet only managed five touchdowns last season. With a ridiculous 204 targets resulting in 122 receptions, how is that number even possible. Expecting that paltry sum to double is definitely in the confines of reasonable thought. The idea of topping his record setting 1,964 yards is a bit far-fetched, however reaching his previous three season average of 1,588 is practically a given. There is only one route runner that should even be considered a 1st round option. Megatron is that man. Or is he? - @Miller_WeTalkFS

IF Hakeem Nicks can stay healthy, and that's a huge if, Nicks can easily be a top 10 WR this season. Lining up alongside Victor Cruz who no longer has any contract distractions, Nicks will rarely see double coverage, which means he will abuse opposing cornerbacks 1-on-1. Hicks has potential to have an 80 catch, 1,300 yard and 10 touchdown season. - @Mike_WeTalkFS

Danny Amendola is used to being the ONLY option on offense, but is not used to a Hall of Fame QB getting the ball to him. If Amendola stays healthy this season, he could easily catch over 100 passes. It is unfortunate for him that he is Wes Welker's doppelganger, because the media and fans will be expecting him to duplicate his numbers. He deserves the benefit of the doubt here as it wasn't very often and definitely not 6 weeks in a row that Welker would lineup without Aaron Hernandez and/or Rob Gronkowski next to him. - @WeTlkFntsySprts

Heading into his 14th NFL season, Wayne is showing no signs of slowing down, and was not effected by the departure of Peyton Manning. Andrew Luck now has a full season and playoff experience under his belt, and that can only mean good things for Wayne. Luck targeted Wayne 194 times last season and he's clearly his go to guy. Not sure if you can expect another 100+ reception season, but 85-90 catches, 1,200 yards and 6-8 touchdowns is definitely in reach. - @Mike_WeTalkFS

Even though Gordon is suspended for the first two games he is still a viable fantasy option, maybe a steal if the suspension scares people off. Gordon, a big play threat, averaging an outstanding 16.1 yards per catch, will benefit from having Norv Turner as his OC just like Jordan Cameron. Gordon could also benefit from having a full off season after being drafted in the second round of last season's supplemental draft. Even though the threat of a full season suspension for another marijuana strike, he has immense upside with Rob Chudzinski as the head coach and one more Trent Richardson injury - Harrison

Jeffrey, a second year wide receiver was and elite pass catcher out of South Carolina and the Bears hoped the same would happen for them when they took him in the second round of the draft. Last year's rookie season had it's ups and downs, including missing 6 games with a knee injury. On the other hand, Jeffrey showed flashes of greatness with 37% of the games he played he ended up with a touchdown. Still playing across elite wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Jeffrey should avoid double teams. Still, his success really depends on Jay Cutler. When Jeffrey was healthy, and Cutler had a multi-touchdown game, all but one time he had a touchdown. Hopefully for fantasy owners, Jeffrey (and Cutler) take a big step foward to playing 16 games and 8 touchdowns for Jeffrey. - Harrison